Big Bear Drive-In
3233 Northeast Totten Road,
Poulsbo,
WA
98370
3233 Northeast Totten Road,
Poulsbo,
WA
98370
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It was always the Big Bear and it opened on May 26th, 1955 with “Chief Crazy Horse”, “Bear Country”, “Killers of the Swamp” and two cartoons. The Almo location never became a bakery. It is currently Blue Heron Jewelry and prior to that, it was Cat’s Meow Antiques.
The county newspaper, the Kitsap Sun, reported in June 2011 that a local signmaker had acquired the drive-in’s animated neon sign and planned to refurbish it. See the story and photo at http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/local-news/big-job-for-new-owner-of-big-bear-drive-in-sign
Approx. address (now Fred Hill Materials Inc) was 3231 Northeast Totten Road.
I was never sure if it was called the Three Bears, or The Big Bear, but I saw many movies there growing up on Bainbridge Island.
At one time I was searching out old Drive-In’s and taking photographs of what remained of them. I remember it was either late ‘96 or early '97 we stumbled across the Three Bears Drive-In, pulled over and went in. At the time it appeared to me that they had only recenlty been showing films because inside the control building the projector was still up with film still in it, and the concessions looked to still be intact. I did notice lots of concrete/construction equipment parked all around the area. It was not too long after the visit that the area was flattened and the sign removed. I never was able to see a show there, but glad I stumbled across it before it was demolished.
Mrs. Lilquist (she was a substitute North Kitsap School teacher for many years) and her son owned both the Big Bear and The Almo (downtown Poulsbo). The building where the Almo was is not a bakery but currently an antique shop. Prior to that, it was a woman’s dress shop. I believe it closed as a theatre in the early to mid 80’s but may have my time wrong. My great aunt (Bell Jensen) owned The Almo before the Lilquists, back in the 30s/40s, I believe. The Big Bear sign did indeed end up in a scrap metal yard in the Magnolia area of Seattle, though the last time I was over there, the yard was empty.